Starting a plasmapheresis program with hollow-fiber filtration

Area of Science:

• Blood banking and transfusion medicine
• Bioprocessing and separation technologies
• Plasma-derived therapeutics manufacturing

Background:

• Routine plasma collection is essential for blood banking.
• Efficient processing methods are needed to maximize yield and minimize time.
• Cryoprecipitate is a valuable plasma derivative for therapeutic use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of implementing hollow-fiber filtration for plasma collection in a routine donor center.
• To assess the efficiency and time requirements of the PLASMAPUR system.
• To determine the recovery rate of cryoprecipitate from filtered plasma.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Organon Teknika PLASMAPUR hollow-fiber filtration system for plasma collection.
• Recorded collection times and tubing set change durations.
• Quantified cryoprecipitate recovery through pooling, lyophilization, and heat treatment.

Main Results:

• Plasma collection (600 ml) was completed within 50 minutes in 76% of procedures.
• Tubing set changes required 12-15 minutes.
• Cryoprecipitate recovery was 59% before further processing, yielding 42% after pooling, lyophilization, and heat treatment.

Conclusions:

• Hollow-fiber filtration using the PLASMAPUR system is an efficient method for plasma collection in donor centers.
• The established processing steps achieve a 42% recovery of cryoprecipitate.
• This filtration program offers a viable approach for plasma-derived product manufacturing.